HEALTH & WELLNESS • GERMANY • STARTUP
Companion Mobile Application
Enabling a healthier phone-life balance for people everywhere
We worked with the team at L&L Present GmbH to bring their revolutionary product, The Oval, to life. We created a mobile app companion that will help users put their mobile devices down and create healthy long-term habits for the whole family
7 Team members
2023 – 2024 Collaboration
7 Team members
2023-2024 Collaboration
The Company and Product
The product, Oval, was designated to make it easy to put down the phone so you can focus on what’s most important, combining a software & hardware solution (mobile app + smart docking station). Something that does not only limit certain functionalities of your smartphone by using software, but actually would allow you to put the phone down every once in a while. As a plus, it acts as a charging station!
Scope and highlights
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) integration in the Oval Smart Docking Station ensures energy-efficient, reliable connectivity with smartphones for seamless data transfer and longer battery life.
Real-time light and lock features offer customizable lighting and secure phone docking, enhancing user experience and security.
Optimizing the mobile app for iOS and Android ensures a consistent, intuitive user experience across all devices.
Technologies
React Native
(iOS/Android)
Firebase
Bluetooth
Low Energy
Google Cloud
The Challenge
The challenge of the project was to syncronize the app development with the firmware & hardware development/readiness.
Key challenges of the project:
- BLE Compatibility: Ensuring that the app seamlessly connects with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices across different mobile platforms (iOS and Android) involves rigorous testing and debugging. BLE behavior can vary between devices and operating system versions.
- Device Fragmentation: There are numerous variations in hardware and software across smartphones and BLE devices. Ensuring compatibility and consistent performance across all these variations can be technically demanding and time-consuming.
- Milestone Alignment: Ensuring that all teams meet project milestones and deadlines requires effective project management and continuous progress monitoring. Unexpected delays, such as those caused by customs transit, can significantly impact the project timeline.
The Process
The journey began with the Discovery and Design Phase, during which L&L Present GmbH shared their expectations, objectives, and customer insights with the Salt&Pepper team. This collaborative effort led to a comprehensive design that paved the way for the subsequent development phase, encompassing Firmware, Mobile, and Backend components.
UI/UX Design Process
Research
Extensive research was meticulously conducted to tackle intricate UI/UX challenges, anchoring a user-centric design approach fueled by invaluable insights gleaned throughout the journey.
Design System
A comprehensive design system was meticulously implemented, providing a roadmap for seamless adaptation to evolving needs while empowering the development team with clarity and efficiency.
Prototyping
Interactive prototypes were meticulously developed, serving as invaluable tools for user testing and assumption validation, fostering informed decision-making and enhancing stakeholder engagement.
Cross-Platform DesignImplementing a cross-platform design strategy, we harmonized platform-specific UX requirements, resulting in an app that effortlessly caters to both iOS and Android users, maximizing usability and engagement through the leverage of each platform’s strengths.
Development Process
The project involved designing a scalable system architecture, developing a cross-platform mobile app using React Native, and creating efficient firmware for the Oval Smart Docking Station. A secure cloud infrastructure was set up on Google Cloud, and extensive QA and stress testing ensured reliability. The team employed an Agile SCRUM methodology, working in two-week sprints to adapt quickly to feedback and improve the product continuously.
System Architecture Design:
We designed the overall system architecture and selected the technology stack to ensure a robust and scalable foundation for the project’s success. This strategic approach allowed us to create a flexible and future-proof solution capable of supporting all current and anticipated functionalities.
Mobile App Development
Leveraging React Native, we developed a feature-rich mobile application that provides a user-friendly interface and seamless control over the Oval Smart Docking Station device. This cross-platform development approach ensured consistent performance and user experience across both iOS and Android devices.
Firmware Development
We focused on creating efficient and reliable firmware for the Oval Smart Docking Station. This involved developing low-level code to manage device operations, ensuring smooth communication between the docking station and mobile app via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). Our firmware development process emphasized stability, performance optimization, and regular updates to incorporate new features and improvements.
Cloud Infrastructure Setup
We built a secure and scalable cloud infrastructure on Google Cloud, incorporating Firebase and Cloud Functions. This setup facilitated efficient data management, streamlined firmware releases, and supported robust DevOps practices, ensuring the system could handle growth and provide reliable service.
Extensive QA and Stress Testing
Our team conducted rigorous quality assurance testing to ensure the mobile app’s compatibility with the Oval device across both iOS and Android platforms. We also performed stress testing on the Oval device to guarantee a reliable and stable user experience under various conditions, ensuring the highest standards of performance and reliability.
Agile Way of Working
Utilizing a SCRUM Agile methodology, we collaborated closely with the L&L Present GmbH team, delivering work iteratively in two-week sprints. Regular reviews and demos were conducted to ensure effective stakeholder management and alignment throughout the project, allowing us to adapt quickly to feedback and continuously improve the product.
QA and Testing
Our QA process for the Oval Smart Docking Station ensures top performance and reliability through detailed requirement analysis, comprehensive test planning, and meticulous testing of all mobile app and firmware features. The mobile app undergoes unit, integration, functional, usability, and compatibility testing, while the firmware is rigorously tested for stability, performance, and BLE connectivity. Continuous updates and iterative testing cycles maintain robustness and optimal performance.
Comprehensive Quality Assurance (QA)
We begin with thorough requirement analysis, which helps us create detailed test plans and strategies. These plans include designing comprehensive test cases that cover all functional and non-functional aspects of the mobile app and firmware, ensuring that every feature is meticulously tested.
Robustness and Usability
For the mobile app, we conduct multiple levels of testing to ensure robustness and usability. Unit testing to verify the functionality of individual components in isolation, followed by integration testing to ensure these components work seamlessly together. Functional testing checks if the app’s features work as intended, while usability testing assesses the user interface to guarantee an intuitive experience. Compatibility testing is crucial, as we test the app to ensure consistent performance across different environments.
Firmware Testing
We perform stress testing to evaluate how the firmware handles extreme conditions and continuous usage. This includes testing the communication between the docking station and mobile app via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to ensure reliable and stable connectivity. Regular updates and iterative testing cycles help us identify and resolve issues promptly, ensuring that the firmware remains robust and performs optimally under all conditions.
The Outcome
The Present app is a mobile application that rewards smartphone-free-time through simple gamification. Developing the mobile app meant synchronising the hardware capabilities with the software possibilities to make sure the solution meets the users where they are. The project meant we had to engage different capabilities across our product development lifecycle. This allowed us to develop and test the mobile solution extensively to make sure the quality of the final product meets client demands and user expectations